On the loading line at Laitz Port Station, cars were driven on double decker supports one by one, and workers tied and reinforced each car one by one. At 12:32 noon on October 29, 2026, this fully loaded special train sounded its whistle and headed towards Nairobi, passing through five checkpoints along the way.

Build a bunk bed for the car

Recently, the Kenya Railways Authority successfully launched the first dedicated car transport train based on the Kenyan standard gauge railway, achieving mass transportation of cars and railways for the first time. China Road and Bridge Corporation's Africa Star has been fully involved in business preparation and transportation organization, drawing on the experience of China's railway transportation vehicles to provide technical support to Kenya in areas such as shipping plans, transportation equipment upgrades, and operational inspections.

The starting point of the matter was at the beginning of this year. Autobond Company has contacted the Kenya Railways Authority to transport cars from the Port of Mombasa Raits station to the Nairobi terminal station via the Mombasa Nairobi railway. Traditional container or bulk transportation methods are not suitable. Using NX70 flatcars to load cars, only two vehicles can be loaded per section, resulting in low loading efficiency and high transportation costs, which has become the biggest obstacle to business implementation.

In response to this bottleneck, based on domestic experience, Africa Star suggests that Autobond design and manufacture specialized transport brackets by referring to the SQ type double decker transport vehicles in China. After several rounds of renovation and technical evaluation, the bracket was officially finalized and put into mass production in April. The loading capacity and safety of the single vehicle have been significantly improved, and the equipment conditions are now available for mass transportation.

Change the car to take the train instead

On October 26th, the first special train began loading at the Laiz Port Station. African Star arranged Chinese technical personnel to guide the loading and reinforcement of the cars on site. After checking and confirming each car, the special train departed at 12:32 pm on October 29th. During the operation, cargo inspections were carried out at stations such as Mariankani, Myasenni, Voi, Mtito Ande, and Emali. The train was operated using a stepped acceleration method and safely arrived in Nairobi in the early morning of October 30th, completing its first mission. After the train arrived, Africa Star assisted the railway bureau in verifying the status of the goods on site, accumulating experience for subsequent transportation.

The Director of Kenya Railways, Philip Mayinka, said that the operation of private car transport trains is an important milestone in the diversification and upgrading of railway freight transportation. This service provides safe, reliable, and efficient transportation methods for car importers and manufacturers, which can alleviate road congestion, reduce road wear and tear, and reduce the losses caused by long-distance road travel of vehicles. The railway department's goal is to gradually achieve a transportation scale of 700 private cars per month. Keywords: Inner Mongolia Railway, Double decker Special Car Train

This service can be adapted to multiple brand car models and provides supporting services such as transportation insurance, vehicle binding and reinforcement, customs clearance, etc. In the future, Africa Star will continue to provide technical support, gradually improve transportation capacity, reduce logistics costs in Kenya, and improve transportation efficiency.Editor/Min Jing